Does PhrMA Have Us All By The Throat: Including Obama?

The moment always comes when one realizes the truth of certain things. You know, the damned check is never in the mail, people always lie in order to get their way during sex, and...uhhh, what was that other one? Oh yeah, do not trust your best interests to someone else, particularly a politician.

So, let us not forget that Barack Obama, above all else, is no more than a politician. Leave us not get too sentimental about young, progressive African-American president and all that other stuff. It's old news. The question right now is what is he doing for older Americans and working families. We voted for him, we worked hard for him, we contributed out hard-earned money to his campaign and since his election we have suffered the scandalous and scurrilous lies about him and stood up for him in the face of vicious attack from right-wing ideologues.

Now, this weekend, we learned that he has cut a back-room deal with PhrMA ( the drug industry lobby) to block any attempt by congress to include the bidding of lower drug prices by Medicare as part of health care reform. Briefly, this overhaul would allow Medicare in its Part D prescription drug coverage to bid for lower prices and buy in bulk and earn rebates as the Veteran's Administration already does. This would close the annual donut hole face by seniors in which they lose their benefits until a certain plateau is reached--they do, however continue paying premiums during this interval of non-coverage. It would save Medicare billions, and cost the drug company billions, and insure that seniors could afford their life-preserving drugs.

I feel much like that apocryphal teary-eyed lad during the Black Sox scandal who looked up at his hero "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and said, "Tell em it's not so Joe!" Well, it is so, and I shoulda seen it coming...because after all the check is never in the mail, people lie to get sex, and politicians will be politicians regardless the harm they cause.

My suggestion is that we bombard the White House with our phone calls and letters of outrage.

Hillary lost me over her support for the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Obama will lose me if he does not gut up and stand for me against the drug tsars and insurance oligarchs.